A few years ago, there was debate on the quality of the USL-1 compared to the A-League “back in the day,” when the Rhinos won three league titles in four years. Thankfully, that’s no longer a debate, and Carolina’s 9-0 rout of visiting Miami FC on Wednesday was a rarity that it’s proof that the USL now is much more balanced and has a higher-caliber of player than the late 1990s. The RailHawks’ blowout was the largest margin of victory in the USL in more than a decade. Below are the biggest routs over the past 11 years. Thanks to USL PR guru Gerald Barnhart for this info. Notice how so many of these came in 1998-99, when the USL had too many teams and rosters league-wide weren’t as strong:

6/19/98: Seattle 10, California 0

8/26/09: Carolina 9, Miami FC 0

8/23/98: Seattle 9, Albuquerque 0

7/3/98: Tennessee 8, California 0

6/24/98: El Paso 9, Arizona 1

5/20/99: Pittsburgh 7, Raleigh 0

7/30/99: Vancouver 7, Sacramento 0

8/27/99: Richmond 7, Maryland 0

7/21/00: Minnesota 7, Cincinnati 0

8/11/00: Vancouver 7, Tennessee 0

8/26/00: San Diego 7, Tennessee 0

9/9/00: Minnesota 7, Indiana 0

8/4/01: Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 0

5/30/98: El Paso 9, Albuquerque 2

8/21/98: Vancouver 9, Sacramento 2

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Jeff DiVeronica has covered professional soccer and the Rhinos for the Democrat and Chronicle since the team's inception in 1996. "Devo's Direct Kicks" takes aim mostly at Rochester soccer, but will also highlight the USL, MLS and U.S. national team play. Devo, his nickname since college at St. John Fisher, also hosts two weekly radio shows each Saturday on WHTK-AM/FM (1280/107.3 or www.whtk.com). "Kick This!" (11 a.m.) features soccer talk, while the Canandaigua National Bank High School Sports Show (noon) covers Section V sports. E-mail Jeff at jdiveron@DemocratandChronicle.com.
Or follow him on Twitter: @RocDevo